Biography

American astronaut, selected by NASA in August 1967. A mission specialist, Allen worked on the first operational flight of the Shuttle Transportation System in 1982. On 11/08/1984, he was a crewmember on the Space Shuttle Discovery flight, which was noted as the first space salvage attempt in history.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Allen, he graduated from Crawfordsville High School in Indiana before entering DePaul University in 1959 where he got his Bachelor of Arts degree in math-physics. In 1959-60, Allen won the Fulbright Scholarship to Germany. He went on to earn his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in physics at Yale in 1961 and 1965 respectively. Soon thereafter he began working as a staff physicist at the Nuclear Structure Laboratory at Yale, where he stayed through 1966. He then took a position as research associate in the Nuclear Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington.

After his selection by NASA, Allen completed his flight training and became Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs in 1975, a position he held until 1978. He next went to Johnson Space Center as a senior scientist astronaut. After many years of dedicated service and numerous awards including the Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1973, Allen left NASA in 1985 to pursue employment in the private sector. He is currently CEO of Space Industries International, Inc., based in Washington, DC.

Allen and his wife, the former Bonnie Jo Darling, have one son and one daughter. His pastimes include squash, handball, sailing, skiing, music and photography.